Hope Dies Last
by SteneMichele
Summary: Jacob has done everything in his power to win Bella over, but there is nothing left to do... Except for beg for Rosalie's help. Will Rosalie's distaste for Bella be enough for her to help Jacob keep her human? Or is Jacob just being naive? Canon Pairings


The scent hit me before I even saw him. It was contaminated, like murky lake water after an acid rain. There were no words to describe it… At first, I could have sworn that it was decaying flesh, yet after a second whiff I would have pegged it as aged prunes.

He was standing behind me instantaneously, breathing deeply yet not tempting me in the slightest. It was quite the opposite, actually; he was repelling me like two polar magnets.

"Bella's in his room, mongrel," I snapped, gesturing to the only light on in the house. Ever since Bella had started spending time here, we had started to pay for trivial human things like lighting fixtures and plumbing. We could spare the money, naturally, but it was ridiculous to waste it on something like Bella Swan.

"It's not Bella that I came here to see," he retorted, clearly impatient. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh yes," I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "We all know how much you love talking to me." Jacob stiffened behind me, obviously trying to get something off of his chest.

"I'm not going to argue with that, leech," he agreed, "But I have a proposition." I scoffed. A proposition normally involved a little assistance on both ends; what did I need assistance with? There was nothing that this mongrel could do to help me…

"Spill, Fido, but only for entertainment purposes," I sighed, shaking my head with frustration. When Jacob spoke, his words came out too quickly for human ears to comprehend.

"Have you ever tried to seduce Edward?" he demanded. I froze, curiosity tingling through every frozen cell in my perfect body.

"At first," I answered, surprised at how easy the answer came. There was no guilt, no secrets, no temptation. That was how it had always been. I had wanted Edward to want me, but that had simply been a matter of pride. I had never wanted Edward in any way. Other than the few times that I had wanted him dead.

"And?" Jacob persisted, obviously perplexed. I jerked my head towards his bedroom window, where Edward's silhouette was entwined with Bella's. Jacob's eyes followed my gaze and then quickly flitted away, clearly troubled with my answer.

"Oh." He glanced towards the forest in an attempt to clear his mind, crest-fallen. "He didn't respond at all?" I scoffed, trying to block out the sickening whispers of love-declaration that were coming from my brother's bedroom. Despite my frustration, I was slightly flattered by the way that Jacob was eyeing my perfect figure. I was no mind-reader, but I could almost feel the doubt radiating off of his skin. It was as if he doubted that anybody would refuse me.

"Jesus, Fido, you know Edward," I snapped. Did he really think that somebody like Edward, the 100-year-old virgin, would cede to my seduction? The thought was humorous now.

"I had to ask," Jake muttered, his voice thick with disappointment. "I just thought that maybe there was still a chance of him falling for somebody else." I did not bother to stifle my laugh this time.

"You obviously have no idea who you're talking about," I pointed out, "Or who you are talking to. I have Emmett now, and Edward only crosses my mind when I am extremely pissed off." My voice was acidic, though somewhere in the back of my mind, there was pity. As if building off of my infinitesimal sympathy Jake sighed and began to speak.

"I had to give it a shot," he whispered, and his tone was suddenly filled with the sadness of a Holocaust survivor. "Anything that could save her. You don't know what it's done to me- the thought of her cold and- and breathless. And of course, the smell would certainly be a let-down." I rolled my eyes, spinning around threateningly. Jacob raised his hands shoulder-length in a surrendering gesture.

"I was only wondering if she would smell half as bad as you," he mentioned, a slight smile forming on his face despite his obvious pain.

"Ha. Try three times as bad, pup," I retorted. "And what about you? It's not like you don't smell like a wet dog burning in a furnace. What about me? What do I smell like?" I was toying with his emotions, building up a temper so that he would phase. Maybe if I was lucky, he would hurt me in the process, giving me a good excuse to kill him on the spot. Jacob stiffened in an obvious attempt at nonchalance.

"Sugar and spice and everything nice," he answered, perplexing me. "It's the most sickening stench in the universe." I laughed bitterly.

"'Sugar and spice and everything nice'," I recited. "Like little girls?" Jacob contemplated this before answering.

"Yes, but little girls don't smell bad at all," he replied. I smirked, shaking my head.

"You would know," I retorted.

"Ugh, not like I go around and smell little girls," he corrected me.

"Good," I sighed, "because sane vampires are no more impressed with pedophilia than sane humans." Jacob shook his head in defeat, reclining against a tall evergreen. I was surprised that it didn't collapse with his weight.

"But seriously," he began, after a second of silence, "I don't want her to be one of you. And neither do you. I can see it in your eyes. You hate her. So do us both a favor and do everything in your power to prevent it. After all, I don't want her to go and have her father for dinner and then eat mine for a midnight snack." Of all the rude insults that he had thrown at me today, this one stung the deepest.

"Damn it, mutt, you know we don't feed off of people," I snapped indignantly. Jacob considered this, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up with anger.

"Not anymore," Jacob mused, "But-"

"Always," I interrupted him, my voice brimming with bitterness and pride. "Always for me." Despite his obvious revulsion, he seemed impressed. This pleased me.

"Never?" he inquired dubiously. I pursed my lips and shook my head.

"Never," I confirmed. "Now go and put a shirt on or something. Bella will certainly not be impressed by your freakish wolf muscles when she compares them to Edward's." To my utter disgust, Jacob threw me a playful wink.

"Well then I'm lucky he's not taking his shirt off," he pointed out, glancing up to the bedroom where Edward was still fully-clothed. I rolled my eyes, reminded of the reason why Jacob had even come to talk to me in the first place.

"So you don't think that there's a chance?" he murmured, dejected. I eyed him up and down before my eyes shifted up to the window.

"No," I replied shortly. "You need to come to terms. I'm doing it. I'm coming to terms. After all, a blind man could see the way that they look at each other." Jacob considered this, biting his lower lip hard enough to produce a revolting drop of crimson blood. I stiffened, slightly enticed for the first time that day. Jacob eyed my sudden unease, clearly debating whether or not to just let me kill him on the spot. True, I loathed him, but he must really be hurting if he was ready to let me take his life.

"There's always something to be done," Jake muttered, indignant. I shook my head shortly, letting out an impatient laugh.

"Hope dies last, Mutt," I mused. "It always does." The filthy dog was obviously perplexed, demonstrating a typical human's lack of intelligence. I rolled my eyes, dumbing my metaphorical speech down to his pitiful leve.

"I'd help if I could, but I have my own dignity to maintain. And so do you," I added, on a second thought. "Isn't this taking a toll on your pride, mutt?"

He whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear, "More than anything."


End file.
